Fragments of Imagination
by NocturnalHunter
Summary: Here's the thing nobody wished for. One-Shot stories that vaguely have something to do with Loss of Faith and Wolfbann. Things ranging from what-if scenarios, shipping, my occasional input to experimental One-Shots that either didn't make the cut or were too out there for the main story. (For an explanation please consult the Author's Note in the 1. Chapter.) Rating might update.
1. Higanbana (Experimental-Backstory)

**A/N: PLEASE READ THIS FIRST (And take caution...The author is using swear words.)**

So, dear reader, you might be asking what the holy fucking hell this is. After all, it isn't the case at all that I already have a monstrum on Fanfiction of God Eater that already counts 58,369 words and isn't even halfway anywhere interesting and holy hell, it already is longer than some that are already finished. Don't worry, the next chapter will be uploaded next week, maybe sooner.

But back to the question at hand. The underlining thought is actually quite simple:

I'm in process of tidying out my document folder.

Maybe not the best thing that one should do after ingesting their third energy drink and already reaching for their fourth but it is necessary in my eyes. I produce a lot of texts because I write every single day (because I'm a lunatic) and the load of shit I put into half-way coherent words, is slowly getting out of hand. Normally, those things will always be stuck in folder limbo and never, ever see the day of upload.

But, since I'm sugar high and sleep deprived at the moment, I unwisely decided that I will upload them anyway because they should get at least a chance to be hated like the shit it is.

So, in short, it is an ONE-SHOT-COLLECTION of pieces that never made the cut, either because the style of writing is so outlandish and experimental that it just didn't fit or just something I slapped onto a digital piece of paper because my stupid brain came up with the idea.

 **Is it canon?** Kinda, sorta and no. Depends on the piece really. I had a (couple of different) romance (paths) in planning once that I scrapped due to me sucking at it. Feel free as taking it as something where no rules limit me and I'm free to write nonsense.

 **Is it a necessary read it for Loss of Faith/Wolfbann?** Nope, it's not. You can take some pieces as a character study, as what-ifs or just ignore them.

 **Will there be spoilers to later chapters:** Eh, kinda and then again, no. I try keeping spoilers at a minimum and when I post something, most of the shit isn't canon anymore for the main story. Some bits and pieces made it but I'm not going to tell what it is.

 **Can I request something?** Yes, you can as long as it is not NSFW (Sorry, not going to do that). Chances are I have already written it and if not. Don't worry, I don't make these chapters as massive as the other ones. So it will take a day or two to do them. Can't make any promises for the quality though because my experience in different genres are lacking (romance, I'm looking in your direction)

Alright? Everything cleared up? Great.

* * *

 **Summary:** A little background story. Ficlets over the course of Lucifer's former life.

 **Kind of shit:** Experimental shit.

 **Canon?** : Kinda.

 **Warnings** : Dark implications. There are reasons why Lucifer herself is a dark character.

* * *

 _"_ _Red suits you."_

Her small hands carefully reached for the flower crown on her head, feeling the soft pedals. She blinked at the tall person sitting cross-legged in front of her. A man with sun-kissed skin, unruly dark hair and with a bright smile on his lips. The sun dyed his hazel eyes in glimmering gold.

He laughed at her confused look. A pleasant and warm sound that resonated in her ears. It made her feel safe; it made her feel happy. A big, calloused hand carefully touched her head. Her sister always told her that green, silver, gold or blue suit her more or maybe even black. Cold and metallic colors, fitting for her green eyes and strains of almost black hair.

She didn't like them. They didn't feel warm.

And she didn't like the look in her sister's eyes as she told her that green colored eyes were rare. Or when she told her that she would grow up to be pretty. Even though she was smiling, her eyes remained a dark murky color, detached and somewhere else. It made her feel bad to have them, to grow up to be pretty.

He never said those things; his eyes never lost that warm brightness when he looked at her. It gave her some comfort how he readily answered her dozen questions that swarmed in her head. He kept her tiny garden a secret from her sister who saw flowers a waste of time and scolded her for it. He said they were pretty and explained what they were called, sometimes even gifted her a seed that she could plant her. He also often told her stories, too.

Fairy tales of knights and maidens, dragons, and riches. She liked the one with the knight most. The one where he saved a princess from a big and evil dragon.

In the background, she heard children playing, close to her tiny secret garden. She turned, the flower crown was forgotten for a moment. They were calling her, beckoning her to come and play. She jumped onto her feet with a start, boots and small dress dirty from the soil. Her sister would scold her again but she didn't care. The others were always dirty too. The crown shifted and almost fell down her head. She caught it in reflex with her tiny hands and let it go as a sharp pain pierced her skin. While making a small noise she jerked her hands back.

Confused she looked at her hand. Something had stung her. A red droplet of blood formed on her palm. The calloused, big hand came again and touched her injured hand carefully, his golden eyes watching it carefully.

 _"_ _Does it hurt?"_

She nodded, suddenly feeling tears welling up in her eyes. It stung but it didn't hurt that much. Still, a tear rolled over her cheek.

 _"_ _It's not that bad. I should have told you that they have thorns. Forgive me."_

He removed the crown, rubbing over her injured hand. She shook her head. It was alright, she wasn't careful enough and didn't pay attention. Her sister always told her not to do things in haste.

 _"_ _You are a strong girl, you know that?"_

She wasn't sure about that. She still did a lot of things wrong and was crying a lot. But she still had her tiny flower garden to where she could go to when things were unbearable. And even so, her friends were still here. Everything would be fine. He tucked a red flower into her hair, right behind her ear.

 _"_ _That's why red suits you so much."_

She didn't know what he meant or what one had to do with the other. The thought vanished into obscurity as the children called for her again and she hurried out of the small ruin to be with them. Little did she know that this would be the last time, she would see him as she woke up in dirty clothes in a back alley, not knowing where she was.

All she could recall was running. Running and running far away as those men came to their house. Her sister told her to run and so she did, not knowing where to, with one of them hot on her trails. She slipped through the small holes in the walls, pushed through people and screamed for help.

Nobody did help as the strong, cold hand finally reached her and she was dragged back. Her sister screamed and kicked, children cried. She spat vile curses at them, that they would rot in hell for attacking an orphanage but they didn't care. Something silver shimmered in the dark, then with one move, precise and horrifying, all she could see was red on the floor. Her sister had gone silent while the men dragged her away. She couldn't see where to, nor dared to question these hulking cold shadows. The other children wept and they shouted that they should be quiet.

She knew they were bad. She knew she shouldn't stay. She wiggled out of her bindings, tried to help the others but then she saw the silver flashing again. And then she ran again, down alleys she didn't know, through people she didn't recognize but she didn't care, fear gave her wings and she got away.

Only to stand alone in an alleyway, unsure what to do and where to go as people. Alone and lost somewhere in a place she didn't know as hunger started to claw into her stomach. She thought of her secret garden and the flowers, of him who was bright and comforting as the sun. She begged, prayed that he would come.

But he never did. All she could do was cry herself to sleep as she was curled up on the hard ground. She ran away, abandoned the others in her fear.

He had been wrong.

She wasn't strong.

Red didn't suit her.

* * *

"Big sister!"

A boy and girl called for her and waved. She poked away the chalk as she stood up. Again, the salvage was nothing to be worth mentioning by but at least it would be enough for a couple of rations. She heaved her backpack up, heavy with the scrap and material she found.

Then she walked over to them and put a hand on their mouths. She told them not to be so loud, the surroundings were still dangerous, even though those creatures weren't around. Salvage in the ruins was the lifeline for a lot of people and some were not above from stealing from others. Their leader had warned her that she was too young but she begged them for work anyway. She wanted to be useful, to do something and they let her, saying it was her life that she threw away.

The last couple of times had been gone well outside the city walls and it would be no different from those two on her side. They joked as they climbed the ruins and enjoyed the sunsets in the distance. She liked how the sky was dyed in different colors and so bright in this otherwise broken world. They often talked about dreams. Dreams like children their age had.

She said that she wanted to be a hero. Just like in the stories with shining armor and all. When they asked why, she told them that heroes are brave, kind and noble and slay dragons to make the world a better place. Everything she couldn't do and everything she wanted to be. A knight worthy of the color red. They sometimes laughed at her, telling her that she cried too much for that but she kept strong and prayed to god that it would happen one day.

But the gods were not kind in this world.

She recognized that as one of them tore boy apart in front of her eyes. She could hear him still whimper and beg as she tried to close the bleeding wound. The rasping breath, the pleas, it stuck in her head, as the red color stained her hands, warm and wet. She tried, she tried so hard but then he went still. Just like her sister did, just as many others did. It had been her mistake. She acted too harshly again, ignored the signs because they needed the rations to survive.

And he died for her mistake. A last raspy gasp as he stared at the sky, lost in the clouds.

This was not how it was supposed to work. This was not how a hero would have done it. She should have thought of him first, she should have been able to save him. If she had been faster, stronger, wiser...

Just something, someone completely different.

The god came again, with claws and a roar and it starred her down. She was going to die, too.

At this moment, she prayed. For a god who would absolve her from her sins, for someone who would forgive her for this disaster. Maybe if she believed hard enough, if she thought hard enough it would be enough for this. He always had told her if she prayed hard enough something good might happen.

But maybe this god was just like those creatures in front of her. Unshaken, uncaring, immortal. A force of nature that couldn't be contested.

Death was her fate. She understood as she stared into its maw and even as she whispered prayer upon prayer it wouldn't be enough.

Then she saw a glimmer of silver as a blade, big as she was tall, and it cleaved right through it.

Blackish blood spilled around her.

Multiple voices barked commands and fought it. She lifted one hand, saw the warm substance sticking on it and the realization shook her to her very core.

The god bled.

The immortal being that everyone cowered in fear from, that was hailed as a force of nature and before people yielded…

It _bled_.

They fought it like knights killing an immortal dragon. Just like in the fairytale, she used to hear when she was smaller.

It was inspiring.

It was frightening.

How the walls and earth were stained black and red.

Later she would be told that those were God Eaters. Saviors of humanity. A profession she probably would never attain and she couldn't find in her heart to say something against it. They were brave, they fought, they did not waver in the face of death and brought a **_god_** down.

She could never be like that.

Someone tugged on her hand forcing her to let go of her friend. A woman older than her, that looked into her eyes, battle-hardened and calm. She didn't recoil in horror at the picture in front of her, at the bloody girl holding a half-torn body. The female warrior hugged her, whispering that she was brave and strong.

She wasn't.

It had been her **_fault_**.

Tears filled her eyes again as she tried to swallow a sob.

And still, the color red stained her clothes and soaked into her skin. She still saw it as she was certain that she washed it out, sticking to her hands. The coppery smell was burnt into her mind. It wouldn't be the last time as the gods took more and more.

She still dreamed of the brave knight, with a red cape.

Of walls and marble hallways filled with red tapestry and lined with gold, welcoming back a hero from a successful conquest.

She didn't understand why as she pictured him sometimes with a blade in hand.

* * *

And one day she held one, not in the shape or form she imagined in her dreams. Screams echoed through the alleyway, multiple steps rushed through it. People fought, people died. There wasn't a day where there wasn't blood spilled. Food had become scarce after the third draught; people were in unrest, protests lined the streets. Her days as salvager didn't bring her food anymore and she decided to leave them behind.

And then somewhere, somehow everything went to hell as the lowest clashed with the one in power. Nobody knew who killed first or what exactly happened. Nobody really cared and she just tried to get by. The dreams of the knight and dragon, of the God Eaters and halls of glory, long forgotten, she tried to hide from the violence but it wasn't easy without a roof over her head.

But then she heard someone speak up. Like a flickering flame in the middle of all this darkness, burning bright.

She looked, she stared, she felt herself being moved for the first time for so long.

She couldn't be a hero but there was a hero she could follow and help.

She could do _something_ to make this world better. Something that she could do with her own hands.

She had been so blinded by this light, that she never really saw the knife that was pointed at her back, ready to sacrifice her for the greater cause.

And after months, it found its mark.

A martyr was needed to fuel this flame, to further the cause.

After months of comradery, they left her to die in a dirty alleyway, whispering to her that she wasn't useful for anything else.

She didn't understand, her thoughts railing. She did everything for their sake, for a better world. Everything.

Why did this happen? Why was she betrayed? Because she was not good enough?

It never was enough. Not the prayers, not the things she did, the sleep she sacrificed. It had never been enough.

Maybe she deserved it. She was a coward who never took responsibility, who cried herself to sleep because the nightmares of that one night didn't leave her. For once, she had thought, she finally did something right, something good, that she had a chance to change, to be a hero.

How blind she was.

She wanted to laugh, she wanted to cry as her blood seeped into the ground but she just coughed up more.

It was painful. She heard herself whimpering like the pathetic little thing she always had been.

Where had she gone so wrong?

It would have been enough if she had just laid there and took the pain but she was too afraid to just face death like that.

Her shaking hands dug into the soil as she dragged herself forward.

It hurt. Her lungs burnt and every fiber of her being was filled with pain but still, everything she could think of was _why_.

Red stained the ground, her skin, her body, filled her lungs.

She didn't deserve wearing the color. It didn't suit her but it still clung to her.

It followed her.

Steps drew near. Like a vulture, a lanky tall figure bowed over her, eying her the same interest as watching a dying bug. Adrenalin shot into her system as she caught sight of the emblem on its mantle.

She had seen it before. One of the beasts, one of the devils in human skin who maimed and killed without any sign of remorse, who existed in stories to discipline children. The ones she tried to bring down. The merciless executers, the murderers of many.

Her breath hitched. This was her punishment for all she had done, for daring to oppose them and thinking she would win.

The cold gray eyes stared down at her with no empathy, no warmth, no _life_ in them _._ She froze in fear but still, somehow her hand reached out for his leg, digging itself into the fabric. She didn't know what made her do that, why she was seeking more pain for this but she still did.

 _"_ _W...Why…?"_

It tilted its head. It didn't kick her away, just continued to look at her.

 _"_ _Pitiful, isn't it? Do you want revenge on them?"_ A raspy, amused voice asked her.

 _"_ _I...want...to...know..."_ She forced the words out of her mouth as blood pooled around her. The question suddenly burned more than the pain she endured. She _needed_ to know. She couldn't die without knowing the answer.

It offered a gloved hand, black and cold to touch. Still, she took it with hers stained in red. For a moment, she remembers the warm hand and golden eyes but it was all so far gone that it couldn't diverge her from the path she was about to choose.

No more lies, no more delusion, no more following a light that led her astray.

But she was not strong or brave enough, she had never been.

Grey eyes watched her.

Somewhere in the back of her mind, she remembered her tiny garden full with flowers, golden eyes that watched her grow and nurtured her. The kind words that were spoken to her and the kindness she wanted to return. The laughter of children as they played together.

She asked herself why she remembered it now, after all the bloodshed.

Instead of finding her peace of mind, she felt something inside her break.

 _"_ _Do you want power?"_ The infernal creature asked.

Of course. That was what she lacked. Power. She hadn't been strong enough to understand. Not strong enough to save anyone. Not strong enough to become a hero.

 _"_ _I..."_

How often had she been warned about it? To strive for power was a sin. A sin she committed long ago and she still was willing to commit again and again. Everything she did out of kindness came back with vengeance. Bloody, beaten, broken.

Without power, she was nothing.

Without power, she couldn't be a knight or hero. Without power, she couldn't save anyone.

She knew she was committing a mistake but she was done with being powerless, with being kind. The powerless couldn't change anything in this world.

All that was left in her vision was red.

* * *

"The sunset is really nice from here." Kota sat down and let his feet dangle over the broken roof of the ceiling. "Hey leader, can we stay here until exfil arrives?"

Green eyes watched him for a second and Lucifer sighed. "Since we have cleared the carrier, I don't see any harm in it. Just don't try to doze off."

Next to her, Alisa sighed deeply and shook her head but didn't protest. The Russian girl wanted to scold Kota for his easy-going behavior again. She could see it plainly on her face. Her green eyes trailed towards the horizon, watching the sun go down over the ocean.

"Actually that's the first time I have seen the ocean." She said out loud, catching the younger people's attention and the one who was standing a little bit far off to their small group. Soma was not a people person and she respected that, as long as she remained in her sight and followed her orders.

"Really?" Alisa inquired.

"Really. Although I somehow wished that I wouldn't see it in red."

The sun had set, tainting the blue sky and the blue water in a burning color. It reminded her of fire and the beating hot sun, and with it, unpleasant memories started to stir in her head.

Kota frowned and crossed his arms behind his head. He crooked his head to the side.

"You don't like it?" He asked and she just shrugged her shoulders in return.

"I just always expected it to be blue. Like a large blue landscape stretching into the horizon."

 _"_ _Of course it's red."_ Something whispered in her mind.

A shadow moved around her shoulder, its claws softly tucking something behind her ear.

 _"_ _Red suits you."_

Somewhere deep inside her, she knew that this phrase had some significance but she couldn't fathom what it was. Maybe a memory long gone and forgotten that was rearing its ugly, unwelcome head. They were nothing new to her, remembering bits and pieces of a life that wasn't really her life now.

But they were not important.

Her eyes focused into the distance, the small island not far from here.

* * *

A/N: Explanation: People who read Loss of Faith will maybe recognize some scenes that later got used from this ficlet. This is actually one of the first tries getting Lucifer's story onto paper. This chapter also has a little bit of an old fable of mine to insert color meaning that sometimes appears in the old story. In this chapter the main colors are as follows:

Red: The star of the show this time. The classic. Red for violence, warning, blood, lust, sexuality, war, and passion. However, red in other cultures often symbolizes wealth, honor, courage, self-sacrifice, loyalty, happiness and success. In Japan, sometimes, heroic figures often have the color red or variation thereof somewhere on them.

Gold: A warm color often associated with divinity, paradise, and brilliance or knowledge and mediation if you go for the Hinduistic meaning. It also stands for wealth, success, royalty and strength, surprise, surprise. But on a related note also for tradition, earth, and harmony. I chose to give Mr. No-Name golden eyes for his role as a well-meaning teacher in her early life and someone who upheld old morals and tradition.

Grey/Silver: Silver is an interesting color. Silver stands for truth and purity but the more non-shiny and grey it is, the more it stands for destruction and mourning. Silver trinkets invite even "evil magic" and "widowhood" in some cultures. There is also the silver-tongued devil, so...Yeah. I will leave that open for further interpretation

Fun fact of the day: It's not a coincidence that Lucifer has green eyes. It's actually a remnant of this. Green stands for jealousy, inexperience and sometimes death but also ambition, spirituality, respect, luck, freedom, hope, healing, knowledge and eternity etc.. In Christian tradition it also means the "victory of life over death". I decided to go with this color because of her relationship with Lindow (who also has green eyes) and their different standpoints to certain matters. (i.e. embody different meanings of the color.) Additional fun fact: Some cultures (among them Japan) don't really/used to not distinguish between green and blue.

So, that's all for now. Don't know when the next update will be. I hope you enjoyed it. Depending on the reaction, I might update this faster.


	2. Future (Shipping-AlisaxLucifer)

**Summary:** Far in the future (10-yearish), Alisa and Lucifer are together. Itsuki is their adoptive son.

 **Kind of shit:** Shipping shit. Yes, it is Alisa and the MC from LoF/Wolfbann

 **Canon?** : Not really. More a What-If

 **Warnings:**

* * *

"Alisa, dear, do you know where I have put Hunter's report?"

There was no answer, just shuffling and a curse in Russian echoing from the other room. Lucifer quirked an eyebrow as she set her hands on the wheels of her wheelchair and exited the room to investigate. Down the hallway, the door to their shared bedroom was open.

Lucifer's frown deepened as she moved towards it and as she reached the doorway barely dodged the bundle of fabric thrown in her direction. Her eyes spied into the room, seeing Alisa rummaging through their wardrobe, throwing one piece after another out of it.

The whole room was a mess. She had forgotten how many different articles of clothing Alisa had stuffed in there. Her gaze then wandered to the piece of cloth thrown at her.

A coquettish piece of white lingerie that Alisa had bought for one of their anniversaries.

Lucifer looked at it for a second longer, brain already working and trying to remember if there had been _another_ anniversary that she had forgotten this time around. She wanted to curse at herself. She had tried to always keep an eye on the calendar but with the hectic things that had happened lately, it still could have slipped her mind.

"Alisa…" She addressed the woman that was still rummaging through the wardrobe. "Is this some new kind of flirting?"

The woman froze in motion, turned her head and looked at her and then at the piece of garment in her hand. It took exactly three seconds until Alisa's pale cheeks were stained scarlet red. She strode over and then fetched the piece of garment out of her hands.

"I-It's not!" More than ten years and that woman was still acting like a blushing teenager about it. It was not like their relationship had been chaste at all. Lucifer chuckled to herself. It was part of her charm.

"So if that's not it… Why are you raiding the dresser, dear?"

Alisa turned around on her heel, throwing the piece of cloth onto their large bed.

"Itsuki called earlier." She said with a huff as she pulled out a red dress, looked at it and clicked her tongue before she threw it onto the pile. "He's bringing his girlfriend over today."

Lucifer frowned. "Oh?"

Itsuki made a habit to bring over a couple of people for dinner, mostly his friends and his best friend Ren. It wasn't that out of the ordinary and Alisa never made a fuss about it – in fact, she was rather happy about meeting the people their son associated with. That he, for once, brought over a lover, was just the logical next step from Lucifer's perspective and she was feeling a semblance of happiness about it. He wanted them to meet his significant other and make them a part of their lives. She knew he could very well never introduce them and just do his own thing.

"So? That's great." Lucifer moved into the room, starting to pick up a couple of clothes and started folding them on her lap.

"Couldn't he have told me sooner? I mean, I don't know if I have enough food or what to do for dinner or what to wear…" Alisa ran her hands through her white hair, a frustrated sound escaping her throat as she hasted through the room.

"Alisa, calm down. He's probably not bringing over the branch director's daughter. If he does, then I have a couple of questions for our resident Shinigami."

Alisa suddenly stopped in her tracks. "Speaking of Soma." Then she turned around to her. "I have met him today. He said something about dropping by tomorrow."

Lucifer grimaced slightly at that. "I'm glad that he has time for a personal visit but he could spend his free time with something more important than visit little old me."

"I…might have told him that you couldn't quite stomach the new meds."

Lucifer sighed and closed her eyes. "I knew you would do that, even though I told you that it's not that bad. It was fine."

"It's not _fine_ if you have trouble keeping them down." Alisa lectured her. An old quarrel they had at this point. Ever since she was forced to take them due to her body starting to deteriorating otherwise. The side-effects were nothing major compared to that if she didn't take them, she would probably spit out blood then and there and would be confined to a bed.

"They are far better than the last batch I have gotten from the science department. So, there's some improvement." Lucifer couldn't do anything else but shrug. "…At least, I can meet him in a less professional setting now and I can probably convince him to take a vacation or some time off. His working hours are worrying me."

Alisa quirked an eyebrow and she crossed her arms in front of her chest. "Like yours are better."

"Hey, I have a regular sleeping schedule compared to _someone_ in this room who fell asleep in the kitchen again." The woman in the wheelchair retorted with a smirk and waved it off. "We can discuss this later. Now we should concentrate what our little wayward cat is going to drag in."

"Yeah, but don't think I'm finished with you. Promise me, you won't run away after that dinner."

"Alisa, we live in the same apartment, share the same bed and I'm in a wheelchair for god's sake." She chuckled and then reached for her hand, taking it into her own. "Don't worry, I'm not going to avoid this discussion. I know this is important to you."

Alisa let her go and sighed, stepping out of her sigh.

A pair of arms slid from behind around her shoulders. A cheek pressed against her hair. Lucifer smirked, one hand resting on the pale underarm that snuck around her neck.

"Alisa, dear. Don't make that face." She didn't need to see it know what an expression he was making.

"It will be fine, Alisa. I might have my prime long behind me but that doesn't mean I'm going to drop dead on the spot. I'm far too stubborn for that. That aside, I can't really go anywhere with a good conscience because I know Itsuki has the romantic talent of a brick and I don't want that poor girl to suffer from that kind of train wreck."

She heard Alisa snort as she unsuccessfully tried to hold in a laugh.

"He can be charming." Alisa tried to defend him, still chuckling to herself.

"Of course he is. He is our son after all but he is seriously lacking in the sweet-talk department. I overheard him practicing pickup lines in front of the mirror a week ago."

"Really?"

"Really. It was somewhere between hilarious and pitiful."

"And you didn't offer some help?"

"Let him have at least a little bit of dignity. I'm his mother. I don't know if he wants tips from me how I sweet talk you into bed every now and then."

"Y-You don't have to mention that." Alisa cleared her throat. "Was he really so bad?"

"I have recorded it. I can show you so you can see it for yourself later."

"You are a horrible, _horrible_ person."

Lucifer shrugged her shoulders slightly. "Guilty as charged. The name doesn't come from anywhere. I found it too precious to just let it slide. Perhaps I might bring it up at dinner."

"Don't you dare embarrass him in front of his girlfriend when he comes over," Alisa warned, her voice still light from amusement although she tried to sound serious.

"Don't need to. I think he will do that just fine by himself." She let her hand trail over Alisa's arm and then gave it a quick pat to signal her to let her go.

"It's going to be fine. Now stop frowning and pick a dress, doesn't matter what really. You always look stunning in everything you wear." Lucifer gave her a wink and a small smirk.

The woman blushed a little. "T-That's…"

Even after years, some things just didn't change. Easily embarrassed by even the smallest of compliments.

Lucifer just chuckled. "True. There are still a lot of people who envy me for having you. I can understand them you are just too cute to not notice."

"I'm not cute…" Alisa mumbled under her breath, avoiding eye-contact.

"Sure, love. Whatever makes you happy." She patted Alisa's cheek lightly and laughed. "I will check what we have in the fridge and sent Hunter a message to bring us enough that we can, at least, make enough Borscht, alright?"

* * *

A/N: Explanation: Jup I have played with the idea and tried my hand in romance a couple of times. I just thought that giving Lucifer some kind of happy ending (even if it is bittersweet due to her being stuck in a wheelchair and her failing health) and some semblance of family, would be nice. However, it is old and probably will never be used in the main story since Lucifer's end will probably be uncertain (if she survives that long anyway).

Fun fact: Oddly enough, Hunter (and Itsuki) were the things that survived the purge of this shot. Both characters still exist in the terms of the main story but not quite with the same roles intended in this shot.


	3. Gift (Shipping - AlisaxLucifer)

**Summary:** Some time after GE2 official story line, maybe more than seven years. Alisa did something embarassing and doesn't want to talk to Lucifer abou it. Gifts have emotional value (and Lucifer has trouble comprehending that)

 **Kind of shit:** Shipping shit. Again, as per request, Alisa/MC

 **Canon?** : Nope. What-if again.

 **Warnings** : Alisa might be a bit OOC. I mean, I have a couple of prompts where she isn't getting embarassed by Lucifer or something but it's kind of an attempt to keep things lighthearted? Might be fluffy, nothing tooth-rotting though.

* * *

Alisa looked at her hands and pressed her eyes together.

She took a deep breath.

 _"_ _Everything's going to be fine."_ The young woman thought to herself. She would just explain the situation like she did a dozen times before and just leave out one or two details. Nothing that out of the ordinary. Things like that just happened on a mission. It was just part of the daily drill. Injuries just happened and then someone landed in the sickbay.

Yes, it was just a mishap, nothing wrong with that.

Kota sat at her bedside, giving her a rather uneasy smile. He tried to encourage the thought but, honestly, he failed to convey a sense of security or a genuine smile. He had been there. He had seen all of it and he knew exactly what she was afraid off right now.

"Look, she will just be happy that you are alright. She will come in, check up on you and you say it's just for safety reasons that they keep you for a night. I mean you got a couple of scrapes, so…" He was babbling. Probably, he was as nervous as she was right now. For all his failings, Kota was loyal and would never abandon someone he called a friend. When she left a couple of things out, he didn't argue and kept quiet.

It wasn't something illegal where they kept their mouths shut. It was just something, in a way, embarrassing thing to admit. Something a veteran that shouldn't have happened to someone like her.

Soma had plainly told them that it wasn't a good idea. He knew that there was something that they won't tell him either. She would know. Maybe it was Kota's fidgeting that gave them away. He had just crossed his arms, shook and sighed, telling them that they should come clean at least with her.

Even if nobody opened their mouths about it. Even if they avoided her for the next week.

She would _know_.

There was no escape.

A voice in Alisa's head scolded her for trying to deceive her leader, a person she respected and loved and someone who once did deceiving, people-reading, and manipulation for a living. But she snuffed it out. She wanted that Lucifer respected her and trusted that she made the right decision on a mission.

Lucifer even suggested her for a leading position after Alisa's tried to convince her for months to do it. She didn't want to ruin all of this for one moment where her emotions overtook her brain. She had her reasons for what she had done and Kota was understanding why she did that but from a logical, leadership perspective it had been a grave mistake.

Then the door opened and at first, she heard no steps. The first that hit her nose was the smell of herbs that betrayed their visitor. It promptly derailed her train of thoughts. She stiffened, muscles tensed. Kota at her side immediately snapped into attention.

 ** _She_** was here.

Quiet steps as if she barely touched the ground like a stalker circling around its newfound prey, although her posture was straight otherwise instead of hunched. Kota called it her 'business walk' since she only didn't make herself known and just appeared in a regal pose when it concerned work. The older woman's gaze flickered first to Alisa, observing her and then to Kota.

It took three seconds, maybe one more before her eyes narrowed.

Alisa knew at that moment that she was screwed if she didn't present a convincible story. She opened her mouth but Lucifer was quicker, holding up a hand and with her commanding, cold presence forced her into silence.

"Kota. If you would leave me alone with her..."

Kota quickly gazed in Alisa's direction and Alisa could just imagine what kind of expression she wore at this moment: The desperate kind of ' _don't leave me alone with this woman'_. He swallowed and then steeled himself as he inhaled deeply.

"You sure? You know you can be kind of harsh when it comes to these kinds of lectures and…"

Then Lucifer smiled. The sweet cold smile that let the blood freeze in every person that gazed upon it. The golden oracle particles in her eyes made her eyes glow slightly.

"This wasn't a request." She said.

Every warning signal went off in Alisa at once.

"I-I will be fine." She tried to smile and look brave but she knew Kota didn't buy it one bit but if she was like that, Lucifer wasn't above to drag him out and lock the door behind her.

"If you…say so…" Kota rubbed his neck, stood up and passed Lucifer. He gave her a short pat on the shoulder. "Don't be too harsh on her, alright?"

Lucifer didn't say anything, just waited until the door closed behind him until she turned her gaze back to Alisa. The younger woman touched the bandages around her head.

"It was just an accident. The ruins were brittle and…" The words were stuck in her throat. Goddamnit, where was the excuse she practiced ever since she woke up?

And she could feel Lucifer's unrelenting piercing glare resting on her. "And?"

Her resolution to not say the truth was caving in.

"There was this Aragami…A small black one… You know the ones where people said that they bring luck and have these rare cores."

Lucifer was gazing in another direction for a moment, thinking of an Aragami fitting the description. "Those Abbadons that have appeared lately, correct?"

"Yes. Uhm…" There was still a chance to get out of it. Saying that she just saw one and just say panic, excuse it that everything was just a jumbled mess for her since she hit her head.

"I'm sorry. Everything is just…"

Lucifer hummed in response for a second. "I noticed a rare core in the report…Did you hunt it down?"

What report? They didn't hand in a report and everything else was just verbal until now and they haven't said anything about the Abbadon.

 _Hibari_. Lucifer had asked for the data from Hibari and since she was at the mission control, she knew that there had been a signature of an Abbadon at the moment.

Alisa laughed a little bit uncertain. "We did?"

Lucifer was quiet for a while, seconds dragged on, turned into a minute. Then she sighed. "Alisa, I would advise that you drop the act. As adorable as your attempts are, be honest with me."

"W-What are you calling adorable?!" Alisa spluttered, almost choking at her words. Flirtation wasn't really appropriate for this dire situation, especially when she tried her hardest to save face.

"…Alisa. You start to fidget with your hands when you think that you have done something stupid." The older woman pointed at Alisa's hands. "And if it had been just some whim of fate that knocked you out, you wouldn't act like that. So what happened? A hawk dropped a turtle on you or something?"

This was an oddly specific example.

"You were reading one of Dr. Paylor's books again, weren't you?" It wasn't that uncommon that Lucifer raided his book collection and borrowed something from it. Reading helped her to stay concentrated and her mind sharp, she had once said, but still, she had the habit to quote or liken an incident to something she recently read.

"Yes, but that's not the issue. So…what happened?"

Alisa had no choice to come clean now. She took a deep breath.

"Well, after the sweep up, the last Aragami swept off my hat and I went to search for it. Then…when I spotted it, this tiny thing looked at it, then at me and…then it just grabbed it and ran away."

"…The Abbadon stole your hat." Lucifer summarized, one eyebrow slowly raising.

"Y-Yeah…But those tiny little things are so quick when startled so I hunted it down the map."

"Go on."

"So I cornered it on top of one of the smaller buildings and I thought I had it…" She gestured wildly now. "And then the ceiling gave in under it and I just…" She searched for a word to make it less ridiculous. "Jumped?"

"You jumped out of the way…Or after it?"

"Well…I had it caught it in my arms…so…"

Alisa didn't look at Lucifer but she knew how the woman just stared at her.

"I thought if it falls through the ceiling and gets buried in the rubble..." It was a weak defense. She knew that. It was just how she reacted. There was no logical reason for it other than she could let it get away with her hat. Her mind just gave up for a couple of seconds and all she could remember was sitting in the dust and she staring at the Abaddon who was just as confused as she had been at this situation.

That didn't stop her from forcibly pry its jaws apart to get her hat back. Kota said less than flattering described the situation as her having one foot on the lower jaw, one hand on the upper and the other hand inside the Aragami's maw. He had sworn the Aragami had been crying while she put it through the ordeal.

"Alisa, Abbadon can levitate. It wouldn't have fallen through. You, my dear, are very much bound by the laws of gravity. That aside…You have a gun."

That was…, unfortunately, correct.

"And all of that for a hat…Alisa, I expected better from you." The disappointment in her voice was obvious, underneath her plain amusement at this situation.

"…But it was the first present you gave me…" It wasn't more than an embarrassed mumble. There, Lucifer blinked and tilted her head, mostly in confusion. While Lucifer understood the emotional worth of things, she had sometimes trouble to understand that it also applied to items she gifted to others. She once made Soma a bookmark for his birthday years ago and she seemed genuinely surprised that he still used it. Likewise, at Kota's birthday, she somehow dug up a figurine that Kota had mentioned to like but wasn't produced anymore. Nobody really dared to ask, _where_ and _how_ she had gotten the figurine but she swore that no blackmail or other dealings were involved. Everybody could tell that she had no idea why everybody made such a fuss over it.

It was a birthday. Custom dictated to gift the birthday kid with something they liked and celebrate the day they were born with food and drink. It was how she understood it since she didn't have the experience with celebrating a birthday beforehand.

The hat was a gift that wasn't really a birthday present. It was just as they changed their unit from the First to the Cradle Unit and shortly before Lucifer had to leave to the frontlines. It was sudden and without a declaration that it was a gift. She just gave her the hat, saying that Alisa had forgotten it. Later she heard from the rest, that her new uniform didn't include a hat.

But that just made the sentimental value grow for Alisa. There was no indication of obligation that she had to give her that hat. She just did. For some reason, Lucifer never elaborated why and probably never will.

"You did that because _I_ gifted that hat to you?" It made it sound somehow wrong in Alisa's ears.

"Well, yes…It's still very important to me."

Lucifer sat down on the bed, looking at her, then at her hands. Then she chuckled, laughed. It was different from her cold hollow laugh. It sounded clear and honest.

"Good god, you hunted and probably mutilated an Aragami because of a _hat_ I gave you _years_ ago. That poor thing!"

"I really like that hat," Alisa muttered under her breath.

"I can see that." She ruffled through Alisa's hair but she did so carefully. "Just promise me, next time it happens, you will leave it alone and I get you a new one. You are a little bit more important than a piece of fancy crafted fabric to me."

Lucifer pressed her lips against her cheek and stood up.

Alisa didn't register what happened at first until she noticed that her face was hot and her mind began to stumble over all of this. She touched her cheek, mind just gone far of the rails.

"Ah, before I forget, you do the paperwork of the whole unit for the rest of the week. Are you alright with that?"

"…Y-Y-Yes…"

It took a couple of seconds more to register what she had agreed to do. She almost stumbled out of bed.

"Hey, wait! That's unfair!"

* * *

 **A/N Explanation:** Since some wished for more shipping. Here it is. A prompt I have written long ago as I saw a raw of the manga where Alisa and the others got new uniforms and it was stated that the MC (Yuu) gifted her the hat. Nothing spectacular. The birthday gifts can be considered cannon btw.

I don't know if I ever will include a birthday party in the original but Lucifer's general perception to birthdays can be summed up as this. But Alisa is kind of wrong in one thing: She does know that it's common courtesy to gift things at birthdays but since Lucifer considers them to be important, she goes the extra mile to show that. (It's a wierd kind to show that she really wants them to have a good time and that she is happy that they were born and that they have met.)

Likewise, she doesn't have an attachment to things, so she would most likely abandon a trinket of emotional value to survive or safe someone. So some deeper implications of gift-giving outside of now-you-owe-me are lost on her. So she wouldn't have been torn up about it if they had thrown the gift out at some point if she thinks it gets the message across. It's more about the message than really the item itself for her.

 **Additional A/N:** As per request of the one that sent me the pm. The next ficlet will go more in the direction of Soma/MC. (Shipping again. I'm sensing a trend here). I couldn't pick out a suitable one out of the mess and it's god damn 3.00 a.m. I should sleep. Body says nope but rational thinking wants to. Having insomina is a living hell sometimes. It will come up. It will be posted. Just not now (?). Maybe this week with the update of Wolfbann. Thank you for your patience.


	4. Wait (Shipping - slight SomaxLucifer)

Alright, found something that isn't total crap. Well, at least somewhat bearable.

 **Summary:** Some time after the first and second game. Soma is forced to go onto a social function. And he gets a message.

 **Kind of shit:** Shipping shit. (Lucifer x Soma/MC x Soma) Implied at least, if you squint. Verges more on character study.

 **Canon?** : Like everything shipping: Nope.

 **Warnings** : One sentence might be a little bit...Let's say Soma has stuff to deal with.

* * *

Polite, formal interactions were not his forte. As his leader once put it: If she wanted to sabotage a delicate, diplomatic gathering in the most formal, spectacular way without bloodshed, she would probably choose him as a representative. While she more meant it as a joke, he couldn't help but agree.

The air around those politicians in the upper ranks of Fenrir left a bad taste in his mouth and he wanted nothing else than hole himself up in his laboratory or on a mission right now. But since he was a researcher with an 'impressive' legacy now, a veteran God Eater and a member of the independent Cradle Unit, he was required to be here.

And by 'required', it meant that old man Paylor 'insisted' that he had to make an appearance with that dark, creepy, fox-like smile of his. There wasn't much of a choice. At least, he could wear his usual uniform. They tried to force a suit on him but he had the excuse that it was in case an emergency was coming up.

And with a champagne glass in hand and trying to find a place to hide from these pesky people that started to flock around him ever since he entered the room. Fellow higher-ranked researchers were the least of his problems and he actually enjoyed exchanging theories but most of the times, they couldn't help to compare him to his father. How intelligent he was, how he furthered the development of God Arcs and the Bias Factor and how it was such a pity that he had to depart so soon from this world.

Yeah, he did all that by emotionally abusing his son, almost killing his former leader and friend, manipulating a girl into doing his dirty work, hurt another girl he considered a sister and almost killed all of them in a last ditch effort to bring Armageddon upon the world. Then at the very end, he dared to pull the 'father' card by begging him to go to safety.

Even though he made peace with his father in his mind, it stayed a delicate subject matter. His father had been an intelligent man with good intentions, just like his mother. He was just so blinded by grief that his sanity went completely downhill. Still, it was not enough that Soma could forgive him for what he did. It didn't revoke either all the years that he was treated as a mere test subject, tool and monster for his cause, nor the consequences his father's actions on the others.

Shio was gone. Lindow's arm was permanently mutated. Some officials still gave him and the Far Eastern Branch a hard time because of the 'failed' project that dumped a large portion of their investments with no result.

His eyes trailed over all the finely dressed people. The chit-chat was unpleasantly loud for his senses as was the collective cloud of perfumes and after-shaves that hovered over them. It felt unpleasant. He tried to not inhale deeply as he sighed and eyed the untouched champagne glass in his hand.

For a straight hour now, he was contemplating to just drown his misery in alcohol and then excuse himself saying that he felt sick. There were just two problems: First, it wouldn't shine a good light on him or the Cradle Unit and second, that his heightened metabolism was straight up sabotaging this plan from the get-go. God Eaters didn't get drunk easily and downright needed an almost impressive amount of high-percentage beverages to even get to that point.

Run-of-the-mill champagne for normal people won't do the trick.

And still, his brain was calculating how many flasks of this fancy stuff he would need to get at least tipsy. Alcohol put a damper on his senses and he rather had that than halfway suffocating in here. Just as the glass touched his lips, he tracked a rather faint scent of something that caught his interest.

A more subdued scent, not sweet nor sharp and reminded him of the sickbay.

Sometimes they gave out herbal pastes against burns and treating scar tissue but he knew just one person who used it, or God Eater, to be specific.

It felt off in a place like this. His rational mind tried to write it off as someone attending being sick or injured. Some people here were God Eaters, after all.

An image flickered through his mind. A hint of iron, a hint of herbs and flowers. A slim pale back where the artistic tattoo of a moon and flowers hid most of the scars and past affiliations. A red gash was across it, a wound not deep and just beginning to heal.

 _"_ _Could you do that for me?"_

Soma closed his eyes and let his head hit the wall behind him.

It had been years since he last seen her. Her former unit spoke to her a couple of times when she called to report a new sighting or just to make sure that they knew that she was still alive and kicking. The most he got from her were her handwritten reports and tales that he got from other people that crossed her path.

But the messages came just in sporadically since the frontlines were still considered to be 'unclaimed'. There was no infrastructure to speak off and it was highly dangerous. He trusted that she was alright and didn't worry as much as the others about her. Alisa even accused him to worry _too_ little about her well-being, especially when reports of new Aragami variant came in.

He _was_ worried but if he lost his cool and expressed it openly, he feared that Alisa might snap and board the next chopper towards the frontlines. A year ago, this probably might have been a hand waved joke at the young woman's expense and Alisa would deny ever thinking about it but now…

Now it was a very real thing that could happen and he was very tempted to highjack the ride.

At that thought, he downed the champagne in one go and tried not to grimace at the taste. One down and a couple of more to go. He would need it to go through the night and not to think unwelcome thoughts. Work distracted him enough but when he was alone and had nothing to do they came up again.

Images of cold covers, an empty bed, the lack of the smell of coffee in the morning when he got up and an empty dark room assaulted his mind. And then somewhere in-between, a nightmarish picture flickered through. Of bloody corpses and hers own among them.

Soma kept his expression straight although he could feel his muscles tense for a second.

 _"_ _She is_ _ **fine**_ _."_ He thought to himself and tried to rain his rain of thoughts in before it went fully to the dark side of his mind.

Somewhere in the back of his thoughts, he heard Kota and Lindow telling him that he should brighten up a little.

With a sigh, he took his phone out of his jacket. There were new messages he hadn't had the time to go through. One form the science department that told him some results will come in tomorrow, Kota who – again – asked for advice how to deal with his new unit and Lindow who – also _again_ – spammed him with pictures of his and Sakuya's son.

But then there was one mail with a sender he didn't recognize.

 _"_ _We reached the encampment. Will have a stable connection now. – L."_

That was the first time, she actually sent him something directly but he wouldn't complain. Still, he worried, though, since it wasn't like her.

 _"_ _Is everything alright?"_ He typed and hit the send button. Of course, she was probably sleeping or on a mission or whatever she was doing. A message won't hurt and it wouldn't distract her like a phone call.

To his surprise, the answer to his question came almost immediately. With a frown gracing his features, he read it.

 _"_ _I miss you."_

He almost dropped the glass as he could feel how his heart made a leap in his chest. A curse escaped him as he felt some gazes turning to him.

If someone asked, he would just blame it on the alcohol, consequences be damned.

* * *

A/N (because I seem to like to do that): As a former social outcast, I imagine that Soma _hates_ social functions because he just feels incrediably lost. (That's why I put him there.) But since he goes the science route like his father, he more or less has to network with other scientists (which are mostly employed by Fenrir).

The difference to Alisa's relationship path (let's call it like that) is that Soma is quite no-nonsense and not outright verbal with how he feels, especially at the beginning. That stocism mostly because he has no idea what to say, or how to act since I can't imagine him being in that sort of relationship ever before that. And because he likes being brutally honest sometimes. Likewise, Alisa's romantic route has more of the tradtional confession and going from there. With Soma and Lucifer there wasn't a confession. It just evolved and...happened. Cannonically, getting physical with a woman is easier for Lucifer than with a man. Alisa's relationship would advance more quicker than Soma's. Because issues.

So, I'm going to bed right now. Sleepy. Tired. Finished.


End file.
